Five quick things we learned from Tuesday’s pre-draft press conference

Cincinnati Enquirer | Apr 23

Some things of note from Marvin Lewis’ pre-draft press conference on Tuesday:

* Lewis was still hopeful about reaching an agreement with free agent offensive tackle Andre Smith. When asked to give a forecast on if something might be done by Thursday, Lewis said ”I think the sun is emerging. Obviously, it’s been a process and hopefully we can get it concluded her prior to the draft.”

* Among positions singled out during the press conference where the Bengals will look at add via the draft — linebacker, running back, defensive line, offensive line and safety.

* Lewis on running back and if he is looking for a contrast to BenJarvus Green-Ellis or the best guys that fit his type: “I think yes and no. Yes, if we could contrast Benny a little bit that would be at some point pretty good but I think we want to have a guy that we know is going to… we want to have an opportunity to have a guy that is going to make an impact over the next four seasons, minimum, and let’s make sure we’ve got a guy that can handle that – he’s healthy, he’s sturdy, he can do those things. I think that’s important. That’s really what we’re trying to look hard at in that spot.”

* In terms of a safety, the biggest thing Lewis is looking for is someone with great range.

“Mike (Zimmer) and I see things in exactly the same way, that’s it difficult to play NFL defense right now if you don’t have guys that some range, some flexibility, some hips and some ability to cover down and do some of the things we ask our safeties to do all the time,” he said. “We want to pressure people, and when you pressure people somebody is put in position that they’ve got to now be in coverage. So we’re looking for some athleticism in our safeties. We’ve taken the young kids in the past that have those qualities. They’ve not been able to go out and sustain on the field at this point, but we’ll see what happens through this offseason.”